The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-12-21
HOUSEHOLD MATTERS.
How to Cook q Turkey.

A good authority on the subject gives
the following full directions for cooking
turkey: French works on cooking
tell US that poultry and game should
never be washed. This may do for
French markets and appetites, but where
poultry is sent to market undrawn, the
inside is sometimes sour, End apt to give
an unpleasant taste to the stufing aud
the flesh as well. If the fowl has been
drawn as soon as killed, and the gall has
not been broken, it will not need wash
ing; but if there is the least suspicion
of taint, wash it we'll in cold water, to
which a teaspoonful of soda, and two OF
salt, have been added. There is al
infinite variety of receipts for stufing
turkey. A plain dressing, which Is the
basis of all, is made with breadcrumhs
mixed with butter, pepper, salt, and !.
thyme or sweet marjoram. The bread
sheuld be soaked in cold water and
sqeezed dry in towel. The excellence
of the seasoning will depend upon the
skill of the cook. Add all seasoninss
little at time. and taste to see when
you have it right If you have not served
an oyster soup previously, an oyster or
celery stuffing is most excellent. Use
as much of the oyster liquor as may be
necessary to moisten the bread, diluting
it with half the quantity of water or
milk, and about two dozen small oysters
to ten-pound turkey. In this case an
oyster sauce must be served with 1t.
For this, bring to boil the juice OF
half pint of oysters and one.half pint
of milk, also boiling; thicken with two
teaspoonfuls of flour wet with cold
water, add the oysters, give one boil
and serve. For q celery stufing the
celery must be stewed and mixed with
the bread crumbs, which should have
been moistened with hot milk. A sauce
is made by heating half pint Of milk,
thickening it as above, and adding
celery that has been cut in half-inch
pieces and stewed until tender; season
with butter, pepper, and salt, and the
least trife of grated nutmeg. You'msy
also change your dressing by the addi-
ton of cold minced veal or sausage meat.
Now, having decided upon the style
in which your turkey is to be dressed,
and having washed it preparatory to the
process, till the body and craw as full -
may be, and sew the aperture with cotton
twine; draw the legs closely to the body,
and tie or skewer them in place, or the.
bird will come out of the oven in any
thing but a shapely condition, with its
limbs pointing to the four points Of the
compass. Bend the wings back under
the body, place it in the baking pan, sea-
son it all over with salt and pepper, and
let it stand several hours before it goes
inte the oven, that the seasoning in the
dressing may permeate and favor the
meat. Pour little water into the pan,
and put it in q moderate oven for the
first hour, 80 that it may heat through
slowly. Basic frequently, and increase
the heat after the first hour. a ten
pound bird should be baked from two
and half to three hours. Half an hour
before it is done, dredge it with flour,
and baste every ten minutes until the
cooking is finished. If it is not very fat,
skewer thin slices of fat larding pork
over the breast before baking. Serve.
brown sauce as we'll, made from the
gravy in the pan, even if you have celery
or oyster sauce. Make the brown gravy
by adding a little hot water to the gravy
III the pan, from which you have
skinned the fat. Thicker it with -four
wet with cold water and the stewed
giblets chopped fine, and put dash OF
lemon juice to the seasoning. Serve
currant or cranberry. jelly, or spieed
plums with the turkey.